Shame

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Psalm 97:7 Be Ashamed To Serve Idols

Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. Psalm 97:7

Shame is something that most people do not want to have in their lives. It means that one has done something wrong or has failed in some way or another. The world tries to avoid shame as much as possible. People are told that they can do or be what they want to do or be without being told that they are wrong or that they have failed. This allows for people to do anything without shame.

The writer of this psalm says that anyone who serves a carved image should be shamed and that all the idols need to worship God.

People tend to worship things, positions and other people on a regular basis. They put things at the very top of their priority list in their lives at the expense of everything else. Those things are the primary focus of all that they do and what they are about.

Anything that a person puts at the extreme top of one’s priority list in life is an idol. Although not worshipping it in a religious sense, the person is still worshipping that thing.

Even though the world says that one can worship that thing, in light of who God is, the person should be ashamed of doing so. One should be ashamed that one is putting all of time, effort and strength into some inanimate object that can do nothing at all.

All of one’s time, effort and strength—worship–belongs to God. It is God who created the person and everything in this world. It is God who can speak and do things. It is God who lasts for all eternity and gives eternal life, not the physical things of this world.

What is your highest priority in life? It is easy to get caught up in the temporary things of this world and the trying to keep up with the neighbor in wanting more and more. Following the ways of the world will cause you to put all of your time and effort into things, worshipping those things.

Turn all of your focus upon God. Worship God and God alone. Serve God with all of your mind, soul, strength and abilities. Make your life a life of worship to the one true God who is alive, not the dead things of this world.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will be ashamed of any idols in your life; that you will worship God with all of your life; and that you will serve God first, above all else in your life.

Picture by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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Ezra 9:6 Ashamed Of Sin

and prayed: “I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” Ezra 9:6

Shame is often looked down on as a weak characteristic. People are often told to take pride in who they are, regardless of what they have done. Everything done is what makes a person who they are. If one is ashamed of what he has done, it is seen as weakness and a loss of pride. This especially applies to what others have done that are connected.

Ezra had heard of what sins the people were committing. He then bows down before God praying and tells God that he is too ashamed to look up to Him because of the sins of the people was too great.

The world does not have a rock solid foundation of standards in which they live by. What may be wrong today can be acceptable tomorrow, or the other way around. Right and wrong fluctuate on a regular basis. Without that foundation, there is no shame in what is done.

Everything is about self and the moment. Believers have a solid foundation in which they live by. It is a standard based upon God’s word and leads one to live in holiness and righteousness, not selfishness and sin.

When there is sin in one’s life, there comes a sorrow of shame at failing to live by God’s standards. Along with shame for one’s own sins, there is also shame for the sins of those around the believer.

Just as Jesus took on the sins of the whole world, believers will take on the sins of their family, city, state, or nation. They will seek God’s mercy and forgiveness for themselves and for others, which Jesus provides with His death and resurrection.

As a believer you are most likely ashamed of your own personal sins that you know about and repent before God for them. However, do you see the sins of those around you and your nation?

See the world as God does and weep at the sins being committed. Seek God’s mercy and forgiveness for those around you. Be willing to be a witness and let people know about God’s holy and perfect standards and His grace and mercy found in Jesus Christ.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will see the sins against God being committed around you; that you will weep for the world and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness; and that you will point people to God’s great love found in Jesus.

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Philippians 3:19 Description Of The Enemy

Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. Philippians 3:19

The majority of the world live without God. They desire things for themselves with virtually no care or concerns for God or others.

On the outside surface the world appears to be doing well and making it. Everything appears to be going well and that they are successful. Evil men, and those with no regard for God, appear to be able to be in control and are winning the battles.

Paul just mentioned that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Now he describes them has having a goal of destruction, their selves as god, filled with shame, and their mind only upon earthly things.

When Jesus died upon the cross, it was not for selfish reasons but for others. He set an example of how those who follow Him should live their lives. The majority of the world stands against the cross and Jesus, because both stand against selfishness.

The goal of many is selfishness, which will always lead to destruction of others in order to build one’s self up. They feed on what satisfies them physically, while rejecting their spiritual needs. What the world finds as great and good is actually very shameful. Everything about the world is focused upon earthly, temporary things that will die and fade away.

There are some in the church that are living in that same way as an enemy of Jesus and His church, the believer. They strive to tear down believers with false lies and deception, attempting to destroy what God is building.

The true believer will focus on Jesus, God the Father and heavenly things. He will build others up in Christ, refuse to live in sin, and pull others away from sin.

Each day you live, you have a choice as to how you live. You must choose where your focus is. There are two places to put your focus on: the temporary, earthly things or on the eternal things of God and heaven.

If you choose to look at things and live as the world does, you will be an enemy of the cross of Christ. Rather choose to live for God. Live to have eternal life and bring as many others as possible with you into that eternal life with God.

Do not be an enemy of the cross of Christ inside the church.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Savior; that your mind will be set upon the things of Christ; that your goal will be to serve God; that your glory will be found in Jesus; and that you will be His witness to all on this earth.